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Most social science studies on automobility have focused on the production, usage, identity construction and aesthetic improvements of personal means of transportation. What happens if we shift the focus to the labour, knowledge and social relations that go into the unavoidable moments of maintenance and repair? Taking motorcycling in Romania as an ethnographic entry point, this book documents how bikers handle the inevitable moments of malfunction and breakdown. Using both mobile and sedentary research methods, the book describes the joys and troubles experienced by amateur mechanics, professional mechanics and untechnical men and women when fixing bikes.
“Centered in Romania, the volume provides a unique commentary on the cultural and social relations of a post-repair society…Recommended.” • Choice
“The book’s focus on the history and development of motorcycling in Romania makes it a valuable case study. Additionally, the book introduces important general theses about the post-repair period…This study offers an inspiring perspective for thinking about technological development. It encourages us to consider new angles on the impacts of technological changes on society and how they influence it, as convincingly demonstrated in the book (for example, through reflections on gender issues).” • The Journal of Transport History
“A welcome addition to a host of areas of academic study, including, but not limited to the transformation of an analogue to a digital world and how that change has affected economies, social structures, gender relations and concepts of personal identity.” • Steven Alford, Nova Southeastern University
“The book draws attention to an overlooked area of mobility studies—repair and maintenance. It inventively demonstrates the social and political dimensions of technology and is especially attentive to gender distinctions and differences.” • Suzanne Ferriss, Nova Southeastern University
Gabriel Jderu is a sociology professor, ethnographer, and, since 2012, a certified mechanic. He teaches Research Methods and The Sociology of the Body at the Department of Sociology, University of Bucharest, Romania.
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Fixing Motorcycles in Post-repair Societies
Chapter 1. Shifting Frames of Motorcycling Maintenance and Repair in Romania
Chapter 2. Maintenance and Repair Work in a Repair Society
Chapter 3. The Digitization of Motorcycling, Post-repair Society and A-technical Bikers
Chapter 4. Female Bikers and the Barriers to Motorcycling
Chapter 5. Women Who Repair Bikes: Gender and Repair Networks
Chapter 6. Post-repair Pedagogies: A-technical Bikers and Retro-repair
Conclusion: From the repair society to post-repair subjectivities
References
Index